How Does Red Light Therapy Work?
Red light therapy was discovered (sort of by „accident“) by a Hungarian scientist by the name of Endre Mester almost 60 years ago in 1967. His research discovered that rats exposed to red light tended to heal more quickly from wounds. The rats also experienced more hair growth as a result of the light exposure.
NASA grew interested in red light therapy next. They used it to experiment with plants in an effort to grow plant life in space. It was also used to treat wounds on astronauts.
Since then, interest in red light therapy has increased, particularly as modern research is trying to look for ways to treat aging and diseases without the need for medication or invasive treatments.
Red light therapy is effective because it simply uses light to treat your health problems.
Light in the red spectrum are beamed onto your skin, typically in a location where there is a wound or blemish that needs repairing.
Light in the red or near infra-red wavelength will typically penetrate your skin between 1 and 2 millimeters [1]. It triggers a biochemical effect in your cells, activating the mitochondria that are the powerhouses that produce cellular energy. It does so by:
- Increasing electron transportation
- Elevating ATP levels
- Raising oxygen consumption
By increasing mitochondrial activity, red light is believed to enhance cellular efficiency and speed up processes like growth and repair. More cellular energy, particularly in the skin cells, should accelerate skin rejuvenation.
Red light therapy is also believed to:
- Stimulate the production of collagen, which your skin needs to repair damage and maintain its structure and elasticity
- Reduce inflammation that could reduce cellular efficiency
- Increase blood flow to the skin
- Increase the production of fibroblasts, which are needed for the production of collagen
In doing all of the above, red light therapy helps your body to more effectively repair and restore itself.
Red light therapy may be recommended to treat a number of skin conditions, including:
- Acne
- Psoriasis
- Stretch marks
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Age spots
- Rosacea
- Eczema
- Sun damage
In addition to addressing these skin conditions, red light therapy is also believed to improve facial texture, reduce the visibility of scars, and speed up wound healing.
Red light therapy may also stimulate the growth of hair by increasing activity in the hair follicles. For this reason, it’s often recommended for addressing hair loss, particularly in cases of androgenic alopecia.
How Does Red Light Therapy Work?
Red light therapy was discovered (sort of by „accident“) by a Hungarian scientist by the name of Endre Mester almost 60 years ago in 1967. His research discovered that rats exposed to red light tended to heal more quickly from wounds. The rats also experienced more hair growth as a result of the light exposure.
NASA grew interested in red light therapy next. They used it to experiment with plants in an effort to grow plant life in space. It was also used to treat wounds on astronauts.
Since then, interest in red light therapy has increased, particularly as modern research is trying to look for ways to treat aging and diseases without the need for medication or invasive treatments.
Red light therapy is effective because it simply uses light to treat your health problems.
Light in the red spectrum are beamed onto your skin, typically in a location where there is a wound or blemish that needs repairing.
Light in the red or near infra-red wavelength will typically penetrate your skin between 1 and 2 millimeters [1]. It triggers a biochemical effect in your cells, activating the mitochondria that are the powerhouses that produce cellular energy. It does so by:
- Increasing electron transportation
- Elevating ATP levels
- Raising oxygen consumption
By increasing mitochondrial activity, red light is believed to enhance cellular efficiency and speed up processes like growth and repair. More cellular energy, particularly in the skin cells, should accelerate skin rejuvenation.
Red light therapy is also believed to:
- Stimulate the production of collagen, which your skin needs to repair damage and maintain its structure and elasticity
- Reduce inflammation that could reduce cellular efficiency
- Increase blood flow to the skin
- Increase the production of fibroblasts, which are needed for the production of collagen
In doing all of the above, red light therapy helps your body to more effectively repair and restore itself.
Red light therapy may be recommended to treat a number of skin conditions, including:
- Acne
- Psoriasis
- Stretch marks
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Age spots
- Rosacea
- Eczema
- Sun damage
In addition to addressing these skin conditions, red light therapy is also believed to improve facial texture, reduce the visibility of scars, and speed up wound healing.
Red light therapy may also stimulate the growth of hair by increasing activity in the hair follicles. For this reason, it’s often recommended for addressing hair loss, particularly in cases of androgenic alopecia.
Red light therapy is a treatment that can accelerate wound healing, reduce inflammation and pain, improve your skin health, and possibly provide other benefits, as you saw listed above.
While a great deal more research is needed to prove its claims beyond doubt, what science there is does provide concrete evidence that red light therapy can improve the health of your joints, teeth, mouth, brain, but most of all, your skin.